Augsburg media expert says sustainable ceasefire agreement in Syria must include end to conflict-related sexual violence used as weapon

Gina Torry, executive director of the Augsburg-hosted Nobel Peace Prize Forum, is the author of the United Nation’s “Guidance for Mediators: Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ceasefire and Peace Agreements,” which has been used to end conflict-related sexual violence against women and children.

She is available to address with media:

Why an end to sexual violence as a weapon is critical to ceasefire in Syria

Methods and tactics of conflict

Conflict-related sexual violence waged against civilians

How to identify when sexual violence is conflict related

Examples where ceasefire has included agreement to end use of sexual violence in conflict zones

“If left unaddressed, sexual violence can be used as a means to continue acts of war outside the purview of agreements and monitoring teams, which can trigger cycles of vengeance and vigilantism, and risk undermining confidence in agreements and possibly the mediation process itself,” Torry said.

Torry has worked closely with the UN, its member states, regional organizations, women’s civil society groups, and networks worldwide. She most recently served as executive director of the Peace Research Endowment, the North American presence of the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Prior to that, Torry worked for several years with the UN Department of Political Affairs Policy and Mediation Division.

To arrange an interview, contact Stephanie Weiss, news and media services director, at 612.330.1476 or by email at weisss@augsburg.edu.